“The Orchestra” – Claudio Abbado & The Mozart’s Orchestra, Blu-ray (2013)
Documentary film by Helmut Failing and Francesco Merini
Studio: EuroArts 2060734 (1/27/15) [Distr. by Naxos]
Video: 16:9 1080p HD color
Audio: PCM Stereo/ DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, German, French, Italian
No region code
Length: 70 mins
Rating: ****
This Blu-ray is a rather unconventional look at the Orchestra Mozart, founded by the late Claudio Abbado to bring together both young and experienced musicians to perform in both Bologna and on tour. Abbado started this endeavor in 2004, and it was a labor of love until he died in 2014.
Most discs are focused on music performances, which would be a natural assumption for this offering. Instead, this is a behind the scenes look with reflections from players, insights into touring, and a long and fascinating interview with Abbado. With all the talk of music, and the magic of playing under Abbado, there is no complete performance. Normally, this would bother me, but in fact this is an intimate and fascinating portrait of the orchestra members and the conductor, not a concert disc.
As regular readers will note, I recently finished a review of a memorial Blu-ray for Abbado, and found it disappointing. This disc, while not designed as a memorial tribute, is a far more fitting valentine to Abbado and it’s filled with stories about him from the musicians who were lucky enough to gather under his baton.
The interview with the players are not filled with cliches. We get a real feeling for these people as human beings. We learn about their doubts and fears, and their joy at playing with the Orchestra Mozart. We see them preparing for the concert, and get a sense of their life on tour. In one memorable sequence, a musician tells how he did not expect any ‘magic’ working with Abbado, but quickly was seduced with the power of his interpretations and his down to earth approach to the music. Most of the interviews are in the native languages of the musicians, so you will want to engage the subtitles.
In an interview with Abbado, he talks about why he learns each score and commits it to memory, so he never has to look down, and he notes that he is thrilled when he sees the eyes of the members of the orchestra, and how through that visual contact the music comes alive.
This is a very well thought-out and beautifully edited documentary. It’s a very fresh approach visually. Soundwise, the audio is excellent for the musical excerpts, but there is not a lot of uninterrupted music. Note that the disc defaults to PCM Stereo, but also offers DTD HD Master Audio in 5.1, which is the mix I listened to. It’s an extremely well done recording. When we see the orchestra emerging from back stage we here the muffled sound of the audience in the front channels. As the players pass through the door onto the stage, the sound field opens up to full surround, and we are enveloped with the sound of the hall. In the brief orchestral excerpts, we get a very nice spread of instruments up front, with hall ambiance in the surrounds.
This is not a concert disc, but rather it is a look behind the curtain as we share the aspirations of the musicians; the thoughts of one of the 20th centuries great conductors, and how it all comes together into a world class orchestra. It’s very personal and very moving.
This is a smashingly good documentary. The only thing missing is one complete performance, and as a result, I don’t think it has a lot of repeat value. It really is a documentary, not a concert disc. However, you’ll likely enjoy sharing it with friends who are classical music fans.
—Mel Martin
